Seinfeld's Jackie Chiles Sues the Bears in New Jim Beam Campaign

The "world's greatest attorney" is out to save the honey bees

Published on Aug 19, 2013

Editor's Pick

"Egregious, despicable, criminal!" So says Jackie Chiles, aka the adjectivally-inclined attorney from "Seinfeld," who has launched into his next mission as part of a new Jim Beam campaign promoting its new honey-flavored whiskey.

Created out of Edelman, the effort includes this video starring Chiles, who receives a call from Jim Beam. He learns of the new flavor and steps in to help defend against one of honey's big threats -- bears.

Like other honey-tinged brands before it, Jim Beam's marketing push also brings attention to the plight of the honey bees. "Honey bees are dying in great numbers and nobody knows exactly why," said Alex Abraham, Senior Vice President, Consumer Marketing at Edelman. The ridiculous setup featuring Chiles was a way to home in on Jim Beam's target 20-and 30-somethings, he said.

"Knowing that bears like honey, we thought about suing them as a tongue-in-cheek way of combining humor with a serious cause. In this scenario, the only 'lawyer' that made sense to take such a case is the equally absurd character of Jackie Chiles. His character is so beloved and when we talked to [Phil Morris, the actor who plays Chiles] about the idea, he immediately wanted to get on board to help us create a fun wrap on a serious effort." Also part of the campaign is a component whereby consumers are encouraged to donate to the Pollinator Partnership, an organization dedicated to helping the honey bees.

In order to resurrect the character, "We worked with the owner of the Seinfeld trademark and Warner Brothers to acquire usage rights and have the concept approved by Jerry Seinfeld," said a Jim Beam spokesman.